Teams participating 17 Opening ceremony 28 May 2004 Website 2004 Sukma Games | Events 370 in 31 sports Closing ceremony 6 June 2004 | |
Main venue Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Seremban | ||
The 2004 Sukma Games, officially known as the 10th Sukma Games was a multi-sport event held in Seremban, Port Dickson, Kuala Pilah and Rembau in Negeri Sembilan from 28 May 2004 to 6 June 2004 with 370 events in 31 sports and disciplines featured in the games.
Contents
This was the first time Negeri Sembilan hosted the games. Negeri Sembilan is the ninth state to host the Sukma Games after Federal Territory, Sarawak, Johor, Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Penang and Sabah and the third Central Malaysian state to host the Sukma Games after the Federal Territory and Selangor.
The final medal tally was led by Selangor, followed by Sarawak and Perak. Several national and games records were broken during the games. Sarawakian swimmer Daniel Bego and Perakian swimmer Cindy Ong were announced as Best Sportsman and Best Sportswoman of the games respectively. With little or no controversies at all, the games were deemed generally successful, with the rising standard of competition amongst the Malaysian states.
Host city
This is the 10th edition of Sukma Games since its introduction in 1986. It was for the very first time the state held such a national sporting event. At that time, all states held their respective Sukma Games except for Kedah, Terengganu, Malacca, Perlis and Kelantan.
Prior to this games, Negeri Sembilan has yet to host any Sukma Games. As this is the first time the Malaysian state held such a grand national sporting event, many of the sports venues and facilities were freshly completed.
Venues
The 2004 Sukma Games used a mix of new and existing venues. Most venues were existing public-sporting facilities, while others were newly constructed venues. Some retrofitting work were done in venues which are more than a decade old. They will be revert to public use after the games.
At the centrepiece of the activities was the upgraded 45,000-seat Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium which hosts most of the events. A games village was not built, instead athletes and officials were housed in Universities, apartments and hotels throughout Negeri Sembilan. Besides being physically near to the sport venues, it was hoped that it will add vibe to the city and reduce post-games costs in converting a dedicated games village to other uses.
The 10th Sukma Games had 23 venues for the games. 14 in Seremban, 4 in Port Dickson, 3 in Kuala Pilah and 2 in Rembau.
Logo and mascot
The Logo of the 2004 Sukma Games is a geometrically shaped image. 3 geometrical objects resembles the 3 athletes standing together to hold the torch up represents the Unity of Malaysia through sports concurrent to the Sukma Games objective, which is to improve unity and integration of nationality among the various communities in Malaysia . The three athletes also represent the Champion, Runner-up and Second runner-up position, which is the goal of every athlete. The Torch signifies the strength and competitive spirit of the athlete to achieve victory in every event. The four colours used in the games logo are Red which represents the Strength and Spirit to achieve victory, Yellow which represents the Sovereign Rights and Harmony in Negeri Sembilan, Blue which represents the Unity and National Integration and Black which represents the Traditional rule of Negeri Sembilan State under the "adat perpatih" norm.
The Mascot of the 2004 Sukma Games is a nameless deer. It was a 'royalty hunt' in the Glory days of the Malay Sultanate of Malacca and now a symbol of Negeri Sembilan and one of the prevalent species in Malaysia. The deer's fast and agile characteristics are said to represent the courage, bravery and the spirit of the athletes as mentioned in the Olympic motto: Faster, Higher and Stronger, although it was never mentioned in the official website of the games.
Medal table
A total of 1202 medals comprising 370 Gold medals, 368 Silver medals and 464 Bronze medals were awarded to athletes. The host Negeri Sembilan's performance was their best ever yet and was placed tenth overall among participating states.
* Host state (Negeri Sembilan)
Broadcasting
Radio Televisyen Malaysia was responsible for live streaming of several events, opening and closing ceremony of the games.